Officially charged with sodomy, Ibrahim vows to fight on

Kuala Lumpur, July 2 (IANS) Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has vowed “not to let 1998 be repeated” as police, in a rerun of what transpired a decade ago, confirmed that an aide had charged him with sodomy. “The case has been classified as sodomy,” Deputy Inspector-General of Police Ismail Omar told the New Straits Times, adding that he could not comment further as investigations were still going on.

Ibrahim, who has been accused of sodomy by an aide, gathered support from cadres of his Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) that organised a rally attended by “a large crowd”, media reports said.

Ibrahim has denied the sodomy charge levelled by Mohammed Saiful Bukhari Azlan, 23, that he had been assaulted at a condominium and that this was not the first time.

The hospital that examined Azlan has sent its findings to the government, The Star said Wednesday.

Ibrahim says the charge is motivated to prevent his return to parliament in a by-election.

But long-time prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, under whom Ibrahim worked as the deputy prime minister decade ago, said he was “not surprised” at the charge being repeated.

“He will have lots of stories. There is always conspiracy as far as he is concerned. I’m not surprised at all,” Mahathir said in an interview to The Star.

Ibrahim had sought refuge in the Turkish embassy on Sunday claiming his life was in danger and there were assassination plots on him. He left the embassy Monday evening after receiving assurance from Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak and Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar that his safety would be guaranteed.

Ibrahim leads the PKR, a major constituent of an opposition alliance, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) that has 82 members in parliament. He has been claiming that more lawmakers would cross over to his side and that he could bring down Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s government by September.